Roller bearings used in roller mill applications, in particular sealed four-row tapered roller bearings, are primarily lubricated using grease or oil (e.g., oil-air). Regardless of the lubrication used, the bearing seal must resist the escape of the lubricant from the bearing interior. In addition, the seal must be designed such that the forces acting on it during handling and during bearing operation do not release it from the outer ring and such that the seal is not deflected too greatly at the seal inner diameter (deformed or bowed). The term “bowed” refers to the deforming of a seal in regions that were previously flat such that they become, for example, non-round and/or conical.
A multi-row roller bearing is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,040. It can be seen from the Figures of that patent that there is a relatively large distance from the axially outer ends of the rolling elements to the axial ends of the roller bearing. This region is used for a roller cage and a seal.